Massive awesome cardboard outdoor playhouse
This prototype backyard cardboard playhouse from SuperColossal is, indeed, super-colossal -- a gigantic play-structure that would be a wicked play environment for kids of all sizes.
Link (via Babygadget)
...we produced a prototype for a flat-pack cubby house, made of cardboard that would could be recycled easily once it is no longer fun, or when it rains, whichever comes first.This version is probably a little larger than it needs to be and ultimately we are planning a version that will come flat packed in a size that fits in the boot of a car, is ultra cheap and easy to construct.
Perhaps we could embed the cardboard with seeds and as it slowly disintegrates in the rain and early morning dew, it starts a new growth, planting dense native shrubbery where the cubby house once stood.
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Seriously. I want one of those now. Wonder how it would hold up if a storm came in though.
looks cool but corrugated cardboard can pack a WICKED paper cut! hope that issue has been addressed.
#2
I hope it *hasn't* been addressed. Iron poisoning and suffocation may be scary, but I've never heard of a kid dying of a paper cut. Kids are *way* too overprotected these days. The old playgrounds were a hell of a lot more fun than the new ones, and all toys will soon become the exact same grey, supersoft pillows...
I think the bigger issue is....
WHY THE HELL IS THAT KID RUNNING AROUND NAKED ON THE INTERNET!?
"...embed the cardboard with seeds and as it slowly disintegrates in the rain and early morning dew, it starts a new growth, planting dense native shrubbery..."
these playhouses are an amazing idea by themselves, but the whole seed thing is beyond genious :) If I had a garden I'd put six of these houses in it he he
This is a young Super Boy's practice Fortress of Solitude. Not crystal or ice, but still nice.
Is making it out of cardboard really that enviornmentally friendly?
I suppose the cardboard version *IS* for enviornmentally friendly if you assume that a kid is going to get bored or the parents are going to throw it out.
But before our disposable culture, people used to make toys that would last for years and years, be passed on to younger siblings, and even younger generations.
Wouldn't it be better to make something like this out of nylon with rigid plastic corders, or something flexible yet waterproof and lasts a long time? That way it will last more than a few weeks one summer?
Cool. Kinda looks like Gehry's Winton Guest House.
If a kid doesn't expect the structure to be permanent, they may exploit it more fully than they might if they take for granted it will always be there. With certain things as whimsical and imaginative as a playhouse, you don't want to give a kid a chance to get bored of it; better they remember it burning brightly in their childhoods rather than fading into obsolescence. My sister and I had a cardboard playhouse in her room as kids, and I don't recall when we got rid of it, but early enough that I still remember it fondly.
We had a cardboard castle party once... a bring your own boxes and duct tape type affair... great fun.
However, I highly recommend against letting a giant heap of wet cardboard sit on your lawn for any period of time. If you do:
1) Do not expect it to dry out unless you are in full sun and have low humidity.
2) Remember that wet cardboard will be heavier than dry carboard
3) Bring a pickup and a pitchfork.
How long before birds begin nesting/pooping in/on it?
Don't put seeds in it, most people don't want random bushes in the middle of the yard. And if you buy two or three of them over a kid's childhood, you'll have nothing but bushes in the yard.
Not to mention that what's native here isn't native in other places. Is it possible for plants to throw the ecosystem out of whack by introducing a new species? Would they tailor each fortress to the area that they ship to or sell it in to get around this? Then it wouldn't be as cheap. This is one of those silly things that makes a great quote when you're trying to impress people and sell an idea but is extremely impractical when put into practice.
First thing that came to mind:
"Playskool's Three Mile Island Playset"
Second thing:
"Want!"
Love this idea, and now it makes me want to scavenge more fridge boxes.
On our last foray to a local discount appliance warehouse, we came home with 11 identical refrigerator boxes crammed in the van, and built one of these: a cardboard castle. The kids held epic battles and coronations and banquets in it for most of the summer. It is now disassembled and stored flat in the garage. But this edifice will rise from its repose again this spring.
I'm all for cardboard pulled from the recycling stream -- you just need to find appliance dealers who have some flexibility. I've been able to schmooze my way in to the good graces of a dealer a few miles away. I'm not going to say where because it's my source of cardboard, damn it! Find your own.
Seriously, all you need to do is say your kids want to build a project with it. Bring 'em along on the cardboard collection trip. Making your own toys is much more satisfying, and this will set your kids on the right path.
And while duct tape does work for a while, if you really want to hold such structures together, one should always keep a box of Mr McGroovy's Box Rivets on hand for just just eventualities.
"I hope it *hasn't* been addressed. Iron poisoning and suffocation may be scary, but I've never heard of a kid dying of a paper cut. Kids are *way* too overprotected these days."
I'd agree with the "way too overprotected" assessment, but seriously...corrugated cardboard edges slice through flesh like a serrated knife.
ask your UPS guy.
Perhaps we could embed the cardboard with seeds and as it slowly disintegrates in the rain and early morning dew, it starts a new growth, planting dense native shrubbery where the cubby house once stood.
ChiaHouse?
Seriously, though, both the idea of building something like this or the aformentioned rivet-castle with (future) kids and the prospect of native shrubbery sounds fantastic.
Buy the new environmentally friendly R'lyeh playet for your children! Its patented non-Euclidian lock-together pieces allow you to assemble the sunken city in whatever composition you like. Secret hiding spots lurk behind impossible angles! It's mind-crushing fun for everyone!
Ah, memories... back when I was in like pre-school/first grade , my father brought home a giant box from work, like industrial air conditioner box or something. He turned it into a house in our basement. Were talking 6' x 12' with pitched roof, doors and windows... My sister and I played in that thing forever. Every kid should have one.
Am I the only person reminded of Daniel Libeskind's Jewish Museum in Berlin?
A little manipulation and paint and you could have an Easter Island playhouse.
"could be recycled easily once it is no longer fun, or when it rains, whichever comes first."
Or when The Kid With No Pants has peed to fulfillment.
"Buy the new environmentally friendly R'lyeh playet for your children! Its patented non-Euclidian lock-together pieces allow you to assemble the sunken city in whatever composition you like. Secret hiding spots lurk behind impossible angles! It's mind-crushing fun for everyone!"
My thoughts exactly. If anything should be adressed it's the angles. The kids will lose themselves forever in that thing. Impossible I say!